By Velma Rose Smith

Perhaps you would like to know something about your Mother as she was growing up. She chose to enter this world on a very special day. It was the day of the Total Eclipse. At 11:00 that day, January 24, 1925 it became dark, very dark, the chickens went to roost. We lived on the Smith homestead. Grandpa Fulton Smith cleared this farm and had the house, barn and other buildings built. (This was before the Civil War). Wanda was the only baby of ours to be born on the Smith farm. She was a healthy baby, a very good baby. I had a large old reed carriage. The house was cold so she spent much of her time in the carriage. One day when she was seven months old someone sold me a box of rosebud salve. It was a pretty pink tin box. So I gave it to her to play with. The next time I checked on her she was a pick rosebud from head to foot, she had eaten some and rubbed a lot on that reed carriage. I called the doctor to find out if it would make her sick and he said it wasn’t poisonous. I realized then that she was very curious. When she was given a toy, she took it apart if that was possible. She was good natured and seldom cried. I had to go to the barn to do chores a lot. I would wheel her carriage down and put it in a safe place. The strange noises at the barn didn’t bother her, she imitated them. Bell, our shepherd dog, laid by the carriage every minute. If I left her at the house, Bell laid in front of the door, no one would dare enter. The navy blue carriage with cream colored lining was her play pen and day bed. I took her to the fields to pick berries, and put it beneath a tree while I set up oats or worked in the garden, and right by the carriage was her brother, Wayne, and dog, Bell, and she was contented and happy.

When she was two years old on March 1, 1927, we moved to route 6. We left Bell on the farm but did move Tinker, the old house cat. The highlight at this place was Papa Rose in his old Ford car. He would stop for Wayne and Wanda when he went to town and they always got a chocolate ice cream cone.

On June 26 they discovered they had a baby brother, Jay Emerson. We had a small pet coon which climbed all over them hunting for a cookie or piece of chocolate. The children enjoyed this summer, but we had another move. Arnold got work at Montoursville in a milk house, we moved in November. They had lots of room to play and no road to watch. We had a neighbor, Mr. Pittinger, but Wanda always called out, “Hello Mr. Pissinger!”. If she got new shoes or any new toy she took it to bed. Wayne and Wanda slept together and Wayne never complained until she got a new broom. Then Wayne said, “Do I have to sleep with this broom?”.

We had a beautiful Christmas tree and for the first time Wayne and Wanda trimmed their Christmas Tree. Wanda got a doll, which she named Viola, and I’m not sure but it is in her clothes press upstairs here. Wayne got a wheel barrow, and she liked that. She wheeled it all over, bottom side up. We lived near the airport and planes flew low over our place all the time. We came up and went straw-berrying with Mama Rose, some planes went over and Wanda said to us, “You would get more berries if you didn’t watch the planes”. So that was another trait of hers. If there is something to do get it done right then. When asked who she liked best, she answered “I like all bodies”.

Now, the last of August, we moved again. Arnold went to work for Burr Dewey and we lived in their little tenant house. A small kitchen and small dining room, so I let Wanda set the table. One night she started to clear the table and said, “Ill unset the table for you Mama”. We spent our 1928 Christmas here. Burr had two children, Dewain, 10, and Beatrice, 8. When Burr went to get their tree, he took his children and Wayne and Wanda and got us a tree, Of course, they talked of Santa Claus and they said there was no Santa Claus. That was a shock to Wanda. Burr took over and explained that Santa was the spirit of love, there is a Santa, sometimes he wears a red suit and sometimes it is your Daddy or Mama, but it is always love and giving a present to those we love. She was satisfied and still had her Santa Claus. Wayne had started school that fall and I had never realized that Wanda didn’t know how to play alone, she did whatever Wayne suggested. So for a few weeks I spent a lot of time with her. One thing we discovered, she had no imagination, she couldn’t “make believe”.

Then we moved again. We went to Niles Lumber Camp on March 1, 1929. Wayne stayed with Papa and Mama Rose so he could go to school. Wanda played with Jay, I took them for walks in the woods. The 1st of June we moved into Blossburg. In April of 1930 baby sister Eileen arrived. In September Wanda started school at the middle school.

The big day arrived. Wanda stood on the walk in front of our house in Blossburg. I took her picture. Then with Eileen in my arms and Jay beside us we walked up around the corner and over to Main Street. We waited for traffic, then I told her to run across, when she got there she turned around, waved, said,goodbye Mama, see you soon”. She looked around and walked away,

On her way to school. To me, she stepped out into the world alone with God with her. An elderly woman in the house on the corner, told me later she was sitting on the porch and watched us that morning, she said she found tears in her eyes as she watched us. Either Wayne or I watched her make it across every morning and night.

This was Depression time, clothes were made of remnants, old material, and chicken feed bags. Mama made some cute dresses. When fall days came, Mama bought her a red sweater, were we happy!! I can see her yet, walking up the walk to school, wearing her red sweater. She learned to read so fast, she read more books than any of the others. She had a lot of friends at school. I had a party for her on her 8th birthday. She was in the Operetta every year. One year she was a flower, I had to make her a blue crepe paper outfit. I cant remember where we got the money, but we bought Wayne and Wanda roller skates. They fell and fell. Wanda had skinned knees and elbows and even her nose, but she learned to roller skate and they and the neighbor boy, Bobby, never tired of roller skating. Wanda had two accidents on her walk to school. A little dog bit her on the leg and another kid ran into her, knocking her over, she came home with a large goose egg on the back of her head.

There was no money to be had in Bloss, so we looked for a farm. Wanda didn’t want to move. She stayed for a week with the neighbor girls, then we brought her home and the neighbor girls came too, and stayed two weeks. She seemed content from then on. That fall before school started I bought three print dresses, cute dresses for $1.00 for the three. Shoes were $1.00 and socks were 10 cents. She was 9 years old, she liked school, and much to Ralph Evans disgust, was an A student. She made some very close friends who remained her friends all her life. Margaret (Peg) Edwards, Dorothy Hammond, Ellamae Goodwin, Bernadene (from New York City) Lillian Evans. I forgot to mention that while attending Bloss schools, she entered a spelling contest held at the gymnasium and both kids won a dictionary, they were both proud. I believe she was in 8th grade when they had a county wide spelling contest at Charleston. I wanted her to look nice so I bought a real pretty blue, her color, fancy dress. She told me she didn’t like it, so I said for her to get Mama Rose to take her back to Dunhams and they could pick out another dress. They came back happy, she found a plain blue dress, no lace, no ruffles. Mama gave her a gold pin to wear on it. Bill Urban sat with Wayne to hear the spelling. When it came Wanda’s turn, Wayne sat and watched, very calm. Bill finally says “if that was my sister out there, I would be nervous and sitting on the edge of my seat”. Wayne says, “I don’t have to, she will win anyway”, and she did. She was an intelligent child, a clean, neat person.

She did everything well. She sewed. If she made a dress, she studied the pattern, she made no mistakes. She wasn’t afraid to tackle any job. She was twelve when Jeannette was born. I was sick all summer. I haired older girls to come in to do the work. They failed to help much. She told me, “I can do it, you just tell me how to do it> I took the baby and went to visit Stella for two weeks. She ran the house with Jay, 10, and Eileen, 8, to help her. Jay picked blueberries in Deweys’ woods. She canned them and made jam. They made a lot of it. They picked the string beans and she canned them. This with all the cooking, cleaning, meals, dishes and laundry.

Wanda entered High School with enthusiasm. She liked her teachers. She liked her math and science classes. She like dissecting angleworms, frogs, and snakes. Basil brought her a dead rattler. She took out the heart and watched to see how long it beat. She kept a little green snake in a box in the house. It finally got loose. She felt sad, — so did I, for I expected to find it in everything I moved.

She was intelligent and studied hard. Her homework was neat, she was a good writer. Her work was handed in on time, she never skipped school, she was an A student and Valedictorian of her class. She attended the Jr Prom. She had to wear a made-over dress. She knew and I knew, I hope other people didn’t know. Joe Robinson was her date. Marian Reasinger made a very nice corsage from our flower bed.

Our school was so fortunate to have a very good music teacher. She got our school into the Pennsylvania State Chorus and each year Wayne and Wanda took part going to different cities around the State. One year Lillian Evans went and another year Bill Urban went. Just 3 went each year. One night the bus, returning from Norristown, had a bad time, it was icy and the students had to get out and push it up the hills. They got home about 6:00 a.m. They were standing in the kitchen, soaked to the skin, cold, wet, and hungry. Two sad, tired looking song birds.

Wanda was President of the Home Ec. Class and had to preside at all meetings. For their final meeting she made homemade ice cream and took it to school.

Wayne and Wanda belonged to Juvenile Granges. The County Grange, called Pomona Grange, formed a Degree Team to put on the degrees. They were invited to come to Harrisburg at a State meeting and put on the degree work. Wayne was Master and Wanda was lecturer, quite an honor.

The Grange put on a drama every year and she always had a part in it. She was a good actress. She and Peg sang a duet for the many entertainments at school and church. She always attended Sunday School and Church. She babysat from the age of 12 for 25 cents an evening for four children for Carl Ingerick. She saved those quarters and bought Aunt Stellas piano for $13.00. Uncle Ken gave her a violin and she took lessons. Her brothers teased her while practicing to play the violin, saying it sounded terrible, they would ask her to go to the barn to practice.

She could work out now and bought her some nice clothes. She graduated from high school, now we had to plan how she could get her college education. She had always said she was going to be a teacher, so she had to have a college education. We heard about this family on South Main St in Mansfield that needed a housekeeper. There was Mrs. Goodwin, her sister Elizabeth Allen, their father Fred Allen, an old blind man. He was a retired professor, a poet and a very nice man. Mrs. Goodwins daughter, Mrs Margaret Lapp, and her young son David Lapp. They would give her room and board, she did the cleaning, got breakfast for each of them, making coffee and home made orange juice. This was the 2nd World War time. She repaired spigots, upholstered chairs, etc. She spaded up a patch of back lawn and made a garden, that she kept for their fresh vegetables. A neighbor man told her he would like to rent his farm to her, if she could grow so much on that small space, think what she could do on a farm.

Wayne was in the service, he sent her money for college expenses, books, clothes, etc. This is how she got her college education. She worked and went to school in the summer, so finished in 3 years instead of 4. Miss Allen took her to New York City for her graduation present and Mrs. Goodwin gave her a picture her artist husband had painted. She received a life-time subscription to the Readers Digest from Mr. Allen. Wayne told me a few days ago that after Wanda started teaching she paid him back every cent, she kept it all down in a book. What monies of his that was left over, she bought bonds in his name and gave them all to him.

Wanda was on the Who’s Who List, and on the Deans List in college. We were very proud of her. She did it on her own.

She worked one summer at the Penn Wells Hotel as Hostess Assistant. She liked it there. The big day was coming, the day Wanda had been preparing for. The day she would be teaching school. We took her to Mill City on Sunday. Ill never forget looking back as we drove away, she stood alone in the yard of a strange house, she doesn’t know the lady she would live with.

She was far from home in a strange city to teach strange youths. She looked so lonely. When we went after her at Christmas vacation, we found her sick. We took her to a Doctor in Mansfield. He said she was on the edge of a nervous breakdown. We found out she had a class of senior boys. They knew that as soon as school was out they would have to go in the service. They thought they would be targets to be shot at. And it was killing her because she couldn’t teach them math.

We talked to her, the Dr. talked to her. She could only see their side, he told her to become friends with them and see if they would quiet down. She went back and school went much better, also she became friends with Doris Gregory, the Home-Ec teacher and Doris got her to come board with them. She became a good teacher, taught math to Jr. High students and they loved her. Doris and Harold Gregory named their daughter Wanda after her. (Of course she named her first son Gregory after them.)

She had several nice boy friends, but she returned to her high school boy friend, John, and they were married July 30, 1949 in the Whitneyville Church. She was 24. It was a beautiful big wedding. She paid for it herself. She bought herself a beautiful wedding gown. Doris was Matron of Honor. Her soloist was from down Scranton way.

In October of 1951, I had a gall bladder operation. I was in the hospital for 17 days. Wanda, pregnant at the time, came out and stayed with the family and came to see me every day and brought me home. After a few days she went back home which was on Market Street, Youngstown, Ohio. It was like her – always doing for others.

Wandas’ death was a shock to everyone. I couldn’t understand why God would take her when she was needed so badly here on earth. He must have needed another Angel. Mama Rose said “Why couldn’t it have been me”. At her funeral so many people said to me “She was the best friend I ever had”. Cousins said “She was my favorite cousin”, especially Marvin Reese, he loved her so much. Peg Smith said “Wanda got more out of life in the 43 years she lived than most folks get in a lifetime.” Perhaps this describes what I mean. Jeannette and Bernadene were out to spend a couple of weeks with her and John. Wanda took the girls to the park and to ride on the roller coaster and they were sitting quietly and she was waving her arms and screaming. She said to them, “Come on, have fun, put yourself into it. You have to be a part of life to enjoy it.”